Only Human (14 page)

They took a shuttle to the arrival gate,
their identification as Vanguard passing them swiftly through security
checkpoints. A small assembly stood at attention on the concourse.

Nova looked over her shoulder to see who was
being welcomed in this grandiose way before she realized that she and Tychon were
the focus of their attention. She glanced at the Major who seemed little
impressed by the formal reception. A Colonel stepped forward to greet them.

Tal Carras was the commander of the Union's
base on Targon but he also directed the squad of Vanguard scouts that answered
only to him. Nova had met him only a few times before today and hoped that
their previous encounter was not foremost in his memory. He was Centauri, evidenced
by the slow drawl of his speech and the violet eyes that carried a disturbing
luminescence of their own. Heavy jowls and a generous mouth as well as a
sizable girth did not seem to match his standing as one of the most decorated
officers on Union records. He walked with a slight limp when he came up along
the ramp to meet them.

"Major Tychon, Captain Whiteside,
welcome to UCB Targon. We are most pleased that you decided to join the battle
at hand. We were grateful for Captain Devaughn's timely warning and, as you can
see, are on alert." He directed a long and searching look at Nova before
addressing Tychon directly. "I have made you a temporary squadron
leader."

"Thank you, sir," Tychon replied.
"It will be my honor to take a command again."

The Colonel turned to the small honor
guard. "Troops," he said loudly. "It is scouts like these who
keep Trans-Targon and the Homeworlds safe from the rebels. Emulate them,
perhaps some of you, some day, will be worthy of the Vanguard."

Tychon fidgeted under the awed stares of
the younger officers, a little irritated by the impassioned speech that
followed. It was a while before they were free to make their way down to the
multi-level flight decks.

Nova elbowed Tychon when they reached the
concourse. "Hey, there she is! Cassandra! And I know those two people,
too. Maybe we can all get together."

"You are delightful. We are in a war
zone and you want to play."

A woman of Nova's age had turned at her
call. She was Centauri, comfortably round and curving where Nova was lithe and
long-muscled. Tychon regarded her with some interest.

"Nova! I hadn't dreamed to see you
this soon, by the living ghosts of Djink! I heard about your coup on K'lar. I
could never have pulled off something like that. What fucking nerve, walking
into Tharron's training camp! You got cojones, Takhuu." She saluted Tychon.
"Major."

"This is Vanguard Seven commander,
Major Tychon."

"We have heard about you, too,
Major," Cassandra said respectfully, then turned back to Nova. "I'll
get everyone that isn't on alert together later, once we've hauled Tharron's
ass out of here. It'll be fun! But I'll see you at the brief, anyway." She
threw Tychon another salute and another curious glance and jumped onto a
passing trolley.

"We're on duty," Tychon reminded Nova.

"Just a little party! I haven't seen
them–"

"In a few weeks," he said, amused.
"It's all right,
Takhuu
. You have been cooped up with me for what
probably seems like years."

"That is not at all what I
meant," she said quickly.

"Yes, you did. Let’s find some weather
gear. It’s going to be a high-altitude scuffle."

* * *

The utter riot of motion and noise that
greeted the pilots in the vast caverns below the city belied the efficiency and
order for which Targon was noted. Hundreds of Union soldiers milling around
their rally points filled the cold air with a thrum of tightly-wound anticipation.
Nova gathered from the excited exchanges among them that the enemy carrier had
dropped into normal space near Targon and would be here within two hours. There
was still time to assign shifts and squadrons before the launch.

They spotted Nova’s friend Cassandra waving
excitedly from across the hall, shouting something that got lost in the din.

“I think I’m going to catch up with Carras
while you do whatever it is that you do with your people,” Tychon said. He
tugged on a strap sewn to her collar. “That thing pinches if it gets under your
helmet. See you on the launch.”

Nova was at once surrounded by her friends,
all of whom were eager to hear about her work as Vanguard and the places she
had seen. Her sudden, unexplained departure from Myra had been a surprise to
them. Some of them watched the Major take the steps to the upper gallery a few
at time on his way to where Carras was overseeing the mayhem. Nova did not miss
the covert exchange of knowing glances among some of them.

"What a nice example of male
flesh," a light, musical voice said behind Nova.

Nova turned and groaned inwardly.
"Clio? I didn't know you were on Targon!"

The woman did not seem interested in
catching up on news and adventures. She was still looking at Tychon's receding
figure. "I always knew you'd go far," she said. "But not that
far."

Nova glanced at her sharply. "Yes,
thank you. I worked hard to make Vanguard."

"Well, I guess it gets pretty lonely
out there. Any port in a storm, they say."

"Lay off, Clio!" a sharp voice
rang past Nova's ear.

Clio blinked at Cassandra, who had threaded
her way through the crowd.

"I was only–"

Cassandra smiled sweetly and tapped a
finger on the insignia at her shoulder. "Dismissed, Sergeant."

Tight-lipped, the woman saluted without
decorum and moved away.

"What a lewd piece of dogdirt."

"Cassy, you didn't have to pull
rank," Nova said, amused as always by the Centauri's fondness for
expletives. Like most Union soldiers, Cassandra owned few personal belongings
in a system where personnel were moved often to wherever the need was greatest.
She collected words like others collected off-world pebbles or currency. She
liked to display her collection whenever possible, within or without context.

"Do you have any idea how much I enjoy
pulling rank? That Dorftrottel had it coming. Now where is that yummy one of yours?
How can you let him out of your sight, precious?"

"He’s not mine!"

Cassandra laughed, her violet eyes
sparkling with the sincerity of her mood. "You get a Delphian to smile in
public? He actually touched you! So, out with it. Is it true that they're naked
under their clothes?"

"What? Of course they'd... Oh, that. I
don't know! I told you."

Her friend laughed. "Oh, fine. Keep us
wondering, then. Phril mach doneh!"

"Yes, I had better go," Nova
moved away.

"Oh, did I say something stupid? I'm
just having some fun. There's been such furious gossip flying around since you
two landed here that I couldn't resist."

"What are they saying?"

"I think you can imagine. Probably
jealous. Your baby's got to be the handsomest thing I have ever seen! But I
shouldn't have stuck my flippin' nose where it doesn't belong. I'm sorry if I
pissed you off. Gomen nasai."

An alarm sounded briefly and all pilots now
looked up as their assignments scrolled by on a huge overhead screen. Nova
marked her launch chute and joined a group of pilots waiting for a trolley. They
were ferried through vast chambers, dodging other trolleys and air cars as the
last of the non-combat planes were secured below ground. She saw passenger
transports hastily parked next to small cargo vessels and other planes not
designed to leave Targon's atmosphere.

Idly, Nova wondered how the owners of some
of the private cruisers would reach their ships. Everything was packed tightly.
She knew that moving these vehicles above ground again would be handled with the
proper amount of delays and work slowdowns. It was fortunate that their Eagle
would always receive priority clearance.

At last the connecting storage halls gave
way to the launching bays. Orderly rows of fighter planes faced the tunnel
openings. Only the kites seemed in repose. Wherever Nova looked, people, tows
and trolleys scurried in preparation for takeoff. Lights flashed to direct the
hangar jockeys and many voices shouted orders, warnings and a joke or two.

Nova was dropped off near the fighter plane
that she was to take into battle. Tychon's assigned kite stood nearby and so
she readied both planes for take-off after testing the neural link on her
fighter. Tychon found her after roll call.

"Going to change your orders, Greenie,"
he greeted her.

"What? Why? I'm ready to go
here."

He shook his head. "You're not flying
wing."

She gasped. "Are you serious? I'm not
deploying? I'm a fighter pilot, above all. Why would you not want me up
there?"

He raised his hand to ward off her
outburst. "Remind me to start you on some basic exercises in attaining
stillness and balance. It's a valuable skill."

She grimaced.

"Stop being a fighter pilot. Start
thinking like Vanguard. Take the Eagle. You'll find it at gate nine. Power down
in orbit. Don’t get noticed." He looked up when an alarm sounded.
"That's me." He pinned his gloves between elbow and ribs and raised
his hands to touch her face. "Hold still." He tilted her head and
placed the tips of his fingers against the neural ports on her temples.

He closed his eyes.

"Tychon, what..." she began,
uneasy now. She felt an eerie, pulsating charge, like an electronic ticking,
radiate from his finger tips and meet somewhere in her brain. "What are
you doing?"

There is more to us Delphians than you
know.

"I realize that…" He had not
spoken aloud! What was happening?

What's happening,
came the reply to her unspoken question,
is that we will be able
to stay in touch out there. It’s also much faster than talking.
He put on
his gloves and helmet and climbed into his plane. She could still understand
him even after the kite's canopy closed over him.
We have to keep com open
to talk to the others but this way you and I cannot be overheard by the rebel.

This is really weird. Can you read my
mind?

No.
He
seemed amused.
I'm using your neural taps. I can understand only what you mean
to communicate. Every bit as precise as the plane.

Can I still interface with the Eagle?

Yes, plenty of space in your head.

Amazing. What else can you do?

He projected a smile.
Your head doesn't
hurt? You feel euphoric? High?

Nova thought about this for a moment. She
felt wonderful!
No.

He hovered his plane out of the bay to join
his squadron at the launch point outside. His attention was on his maneuvers and
he sent nothing further, but she still perceived the steady contact that his
presence, calm and confident, had inside her head. It felt much like it did
when their neural interfaces linked for a long jump.

She flagged a nearby shuttle to take her
out to where the Eagle waited and found that Tychon had already cleared it for
take-off. Quickly, she completed her pre-flight and then boarded the ship to
prepare for take-off.

Tychon's squad was only one of many who
soared toward a surprised enemy. Tharron's attack force had been approaching in
a formation designed to pick off a hastily assembled defense launch. Instead,
they were met by a disciplined offense and were forced to regroup before they
even entered the planet's thin atmosphere.

Few enemy planes even managed to break
through the tight net of defenders to reach Targon's aboveground installations.
The base received only a few superficial hits. One greenhouse among many was
destroyed and a tunnel linking the commercial landing chutes to the
distribution center caved in. All visitors and personnel had been herded far
below ground where they waited anxiously, packed into emergency accommodations.

The main battle ensued far above the surface
skirmish. Cruising at some distance, Nova listened to Tychon's com link as he
relayed his orders, leading his unit competently and with a steady hand. Only
she knew his commands before the other team members.

Enough of this furball. Where is that
horse they rode in on?
Tychon projected his
thoughts.
Care to join me, Whiteside?

You want me to take the Eagle into a
dogfight?

He sent a negative.
Go neural.

She settled more comfortably into her couch
and engaged the ship's interface, breathing slowly to calm her mind. He
acknowledged the connection when he felt her relinquish manual control.

Follow but don't shoot. We're going to
pay them a visit.

She frowned.
They could be anywhere.
That jumpsite is long closed.
Her eyes widened in disbelief when she
guessed his intent.
Oh, no, you're not! Are you out of your–